Midnight in Paris
{4/5} “You’ve been wondering why I’ve been acting strange all day… You’re about to find out and you’re going to wonder why I wasn’t acting more strange, when you find out.”
Midnight in Paris, released in 2011
Gil is a successful movie writer but he’d really like to be a novelist. His fiancee Inez would like to live in California but he’d like to live in Paris. They’re in Paris with her parents for a vacation. One night after walking around the city he’s sitting at midnight when a car comes and picks him up. And takes him into the 1920s where he meets F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Pablo Picasso. Soon he’s wondering what’s real and who he’s in love with. In case he’s not crazy, he asks Gertrude Stein to critique his novel.
This is a bit of an unusual movie. The time travel aspect is never explained, of course. It is certainly a romantic comedy but you’ll appreciate it more if you have some interest in discussions of literature and art. The authors and artists portrayed aren’t any of my favourites — the person I’m most interested in is Gertrude Stein (author of Ida). Nostalgia is a main theme in the movie — Gil is experiencing it and it’s what his novel is about, at least partly.
Owen Wilson (The Darjeeling Limited) plays Gil and Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) plays Inez. Marion Cotillard (Inception) places Adriana, a woman Gil meets in the 1920s. Kathy Bates (About Schmidt) plays Gertrude Stein. There are one or two other surprises that I’ll let you discover for yourself.
I liked the old fashioned music although it was a bit repetitive.
Midnight in Paris was written and directed by Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona).